Vintage Jewelry

Taxco / Mexican    |    Modernist / Studio Artist / Designer Signed

Taxco / Mexican Jewelry
Modernist / Studio Artist / Designer Signed Jewelry

 

Taxco / Mexican Jewelry

Revolutionize the art of personal adornment wearing big, bold and beautiful antique Mexican silver created by the masters of Taxco! 

In the decades following the Mexican Revolution, a vibrant community of intellectuals and artists gathered south of the border to live the ideals of the new social and creative freedom.  In 1930 one of these young Americans, the architect William Spratling, became obsessed with the idea of reviving Taxco’s longstanding silversmith tradition, marrying the local craft with exuberant reinterpretations of Pre-Columbian artifacts and Aztec architecture as bold, modern designs.  Around the same time folk art connoisseur Frederick Davis began to commission imaginative works from master silversmiths with an eye toward creating an elegant and “unmistakably Mexican” aesthetic.  These early workshops spawned a generation of talented artisans who branched out with their own distinctive statements of wearable art.

Come browse our collection of vintage handwrought Mexican silver, handed down to us from the workshops of the greatest masters of the era.  First-rate collectible ornamentation to fit a range of styles and budgets.  Don’t hesitate to contact us if you see something you like ... we’re very flexible!  And, if you’d like us to hunt for something, please send us an email ... the Huntress loves the thrill of the chase!

See our collection.

 

Modernist / Studio Artist / Designer Signed Jewelry

Follow your non-conformist urges wearing fantastical abstract and surrealist designs from the artisan jewelers of Modernism!  Explore the lyrical designs of Georg Jensen and witness the breathtaking evolution of form and contour from his most famous silversmiths.  Own and wear works from emerging and under-appreciated studio artists known only to the discriminating collector – adventurous statements in stone and metal that will catch the eye and set new trends and standards for wearable, collectible, personal ornamentation. 

The mid-century modernist movement esteemed the values of handcraftsmanship and affordability for the masses, while liberating form from conventional treatments.  In the post-WWII years, enclaves of artists set up shop, notably in Greenwich Village and San Francisco, to experiment with avant-garde ornamentation combining stone, silver, other metals and even found objects.  These studio artists played with abstraction and non-objective form, each expressing these concepts in individual styles using different techniques.  African-American master Art Smith used the human body as a departure point, conceiving it as a supportive armature for his sculptural designs.  Frank Patania, Sr. married traditional European craftsmanship in precious metals with a Native American vernacular, working on a bold scale in silver and turquoise.  Betty Cooke’s stark and arresting minimalist designs strip to the essence of Modernism with clean order and satisfying purity. Daniel Macchiarini mastered his craft under the tutelage of his father Peter, a founder of San Francisco’s Metal Arts Guild, working with mixed media combining ivory, brass, copper, ebony and semi-precious stones to create complex and inspired works of wearable art.  

Come browse these collected works from the imaginative minds and hands of the masters and mistresses of Modernism.  Own and wear an original piece that speaks to your sensibilities and connects your personal statement with the artist’s vision.  Go ahead and contact us if you see something you like ... we’re very flexible!  And if you’d like us to hunt for something, please send us an email ... the Huntress loves the thrill of the chase!

See our collection.